You are where?

                                                                  
Yep, this is where I am. I wasn't feeling right this morning (Wednesday), so I called to get in to see the Dr. The earliest appointment was Monday, so they told me to go. to the ER. I came, and stayed, and stayed, and stayed. As a matter of fact I'm still here. There's still more test to run, and more delicious hospital food to eat! How lucky am I?

I just got an email from Christy that said Catherine is in the hospital too. The poor girl has pneumonia. Please keep her in your prayers.

That's all for now. I'll keep you posted!

The people you meet.......

I went with my dad to the Dr's office today. As we walked in, I looked around, and there was only one gentleman waiting to be seen. He gave a big smile and "Hello", and looked at dad as he signed in at the register. He kept smiling at dad as if he wanted to talk with him. Dad just smiled, nodded, and gave a brief "Hello". Dad sat down with his magazine, totally ignoring the gentleman.
  The man was dressed in a suit, gray hair, someone I knew I had seen before. I didn't know who he was, but it was obvious he knew dad. The nurse called him back, using only his first name. As he left the room I turned to dad and whispered,"Do you know that man"?
  "Well, kinda, sorta, dad replied." "Who is he", I asked. "Oh, that's Mr Twiford, he owns the funeral home". I couldn't help but laugh. I looked at dad, smiled and said "Oh, he's waiting for you to make a reservation". Dad busted out laughing, which got me going. We were both heeing and hawing.
   I had recognized the man from the funeral home ads.
  After a good laugh, dad continued to tell me a story about seeing the old undertaker in his small hometown as a boy. Someone had asked the undertaker if he knew who dad was, and the undertaker replied, " I could pick out that hide in a tannery."
 

Obol?

Have you seen these yet? It's a bowl with a divider in the middle. You can put cereal in one side, and milk in the other, then your cereal never gets soggy. I think I would like it best for chips and salsa.
And, for the kids that hate their foods to touch, this would be great! It's kind of like the old version bowl they use to make for toddlers.
  Isn't it amazing the things you can find online?!

Freezing fog

  For the past couple of weeks Kathy keeps telling me about the "freezing fog" in Reno. I have never heard of such a thing. I realized it must be something caused due to the mountains and air flow or something. Nope, for the past two days on the news they have been talking about something called
"hoar fog". It's the same thing as freezing fog, it's just that we Southerners are learning the correct name for it.
  I can just see all the little kids waking up to "freezing fog" then when they run out to touch it, it merely  turns to dust. I wonder how the weather people come up with such things. I am 58 years old, and NEVER have I heard the words "freezing fog" together. Is this something new, or just something new for this area?
  Do they have "freezing fog" in South Dakota and Utah?

Ice

 I went to the door this morning to walk Jack, and there it was.........ICE everywhere. Jack even turned his head, and went back to bed. About 11:30 I take him to the door again, he looks out and sees that a lot of the ice has melted, but I see that the bottom step is still covered with ice. I just let him go on his merry way while I stayed inside. He goes to the corners of the patio, sniffs around, finds him a spot and lets out a little dribble, dribble. No real pee, just letting the squirrels know to stay away. I leave him outside for awhile and let him enjoy the cold and fresh air.
  Within 10 minutes he is ready to come inside. Now, I have to be the one to tell Sherrill that Jack peed in the patio. Girl dog use to have accidents all the time, but she was old. This "pee" was due to the pure laziness of the owner/babysitter. Now, as soon as the ice goes away I have to pull out that Clorox and wash everything down out there. I guess it serves me right! It's my own fault. Can't blame anyone but myself, and this crazy ice.
   I wonder if Chris will take over walking Jack when he comes. Jack does belong to him after all. It should be a wonderful reunion!

Cold Weather Dinner

What's for dinner........
Chicken Pastry
Sweet Potatoes
Corn and Butter beans from the freezer
and Mt Olive Bread and Butter Pickles (Sherrill's favorites)
Come on down!

McEwan Kids

Brand new pics stolen from Facebook. That Catherine is really growing up. She doesn't look like a baby anymore. Those eyes are looking more and more like Christy.

When was your BOY fully potty trained

So i am working on potty training blake since he seems to tell me hes "pee pee" and "poopy"..yes he even tells me when he "poots". he doesnt know the difference in a little air and the real thing, so everytime he thinks its one or the other he grabs me a diaper and wipes anyways! So i figured there were enough boys in the family that i could ask, when was your boy fully potty trained?

Sto Baby's Coming Home!

 Kat called me last night and confirmed that she will be sending Chris and his friend Jamieson out this way the end of Feb. They get to spend 2 weeks with me. I am so excited. I haven't seen this boy since the last time I went that way ....... two years or more. He wasn't in Branson with us.
  I hope she hurry up and gets those tickets so she can't change her mind.
  I'm going to start pulling out every picture and video I have of that boy, and make him sit back and look at every one of them. He use to love to sleep in my bed because as he put it, "It smells like Grandma". Well, he can't have my bed, but I will keep him close by.
  So, it you want to see Chris, you need to start making your plans early. He goes to the MTC the middle of March, and will be leaving for Japan the middle of May. Then it will be another two years before I see him!
  Come on Sto baby, Grandma's waiting.

Hey Baby, it's COLD outside

 It's 32 degrees outside, and 57 degrees in my bedroom. Wonder how much colder it will get in there during the night! I just love a pile of quilts!
 Oh, watching another movie on Hulu tonight. Thanks Christy.

Just another day........

   I received a phone call last night from my dad. In his very slow soft voice he said "Judy, have you got my stuff for the accountant?" I told him no dad, I haven't entered the last 4 months of business info. He quickly replies,"Well, I can read you what you need." Now, my dad is really easy going, and never has anything to say out of the way. But, you can always tell in the sound of his voice when he really wants something done.....NOW! So I tell him OK, and he gets his checkbook out, sits at the table, and starts with Sept 1 to read me all the checks he has written on his business account. I quickly write down check number, date, Payee, amount. He gives me the final balance, to make sure we both get the same. We get it all done and end our call.
  I go ahead and sit down at the computer and enter all the info he has just given me. I have to call him back, we are a little over Three thousand dollars off. We start again in September, and in just a few minutes find out problem and get things corrected. Before we get off the phone he reminds me that he is ready to take it to the accountant.
  I get up this morning, and start working on the reports. I have to stop for awhile to send out two estimates for Sherrill, but finish them up after lunch. By 2:00 I am faxing the stuff to dad. I call him to make sure his fax received it, and yes, he was sitting in the office as it was coming through. He happily tells me that he is off right now to go to the accountant.
  I wonder if he spent most of his day in the office waiting by the phone/fax. Now, we all know that you can't even file taxes until the end of the month, but dad has always wanted to be one of the first in line for taxes.
  Now, he can rest, with one less stress off him, and I can rest for a couple more days. I still have dad's W-2's to get out, W-3's, and 941. Then I start with Sherrill's. I hate tax season!
 I have already spent about 6 hours at the computer, and my eyes are getting a little tired.
 I have forgotten what it is like to work an 8 hour day. Whew, I'm glad I am old and retired!
 Kudo's to all you youngn's that still work, and to those who stay at home and raise my darling grand babies, and to those that do both!

Which child are your kids?

   I remembering hearing this little saying as a child growing up. I always wondered which child I was.
After a little researching, this is what I discovered.
   Cindy and Sherrill are Monday's child.
   Kat, Christy, and myself are Wednesday's child.
   James is a Friday's child.
   Wendy is a Saturday's child.
   Mandy is a Sunday child.
Now try looking it up to see what day of the week your child was born.
I hope I got all the birth years right.

Where have I been?

   Sherrill told me last night, "Judy, could you wash me a dark load of clothes tomorrow, I don't have any more work pants." Well, I know for a fact he has 9 pair of gray dickies, 3 beige ones, plus 6 white pants. I tell him ok, and forget about it. Today he goes out working in jogging pants, so I realize he really MUST be out of clothes. I go to the laundry closet, and this is just about what it looks like.

 
"Where did all of these clothes come from?" He must be changing clothes 3 times a day! I sorted them out, and he had 3 loads of clothes. (I keep my clothes separate) He did admit he had 4 gray pants in his room, he just didn't like the way they fit. How can one little man make such a mess, or should I say how can one old woman forget to wash clothes?!
  So, my job for tonight, wash, and wash, and wash!
  I guess all the Kido's will be going back to school tomorrow.
  Hey Tristen and Nate, are Y'all in Mexico?  Have fun!

No Rest on Sunday

   I'm glad I rested up yesterday. I spent the day today outside helping/watching/supervising Sherrill as he worked in the yard. He has spent the last 3 days in the yard working on our "slope". We had landscape timbers holding holding the "hill" in place. I guess they have been there for 30 years or so since the house was built. Well, they have rotted, and with getting hit thousands of times with the lawnmower, they have broken all to pieces. This does not even include the wear and tear from every dog that is walked in our neighborhood. Everyone pees on our "slope" just to make Jack mad.
  We have been cleaning out the timbers, getting up pine straw, leaves, etc. The place is a wreck.
Sherrill said I have aggravated him to death, and he wants to run away from home. He can't leave though until he gets his work finished. Friday he had two guys helping him. Saturday he had one guy for about a half of day, and today, it was my turn. He kept begging me to go inside.
  Most people that come by want to stop, visit, and talk for awhile. If it were up to me I would tell them, hey, if you are going to be here for awhile grab a shovel or rake. The wheel barrel is over there.
  So, I'm inside now to take a break and get things together to start dinner. Sherrill is left outside with the last little bit of raking, and putting up his tools. Jack has retired to his chair and is snoring.
  All is well in Mar Mac.

Lazy Days

   Just another one of those days.  It's 1:00 pm and I'm still in my gown. Life is great.
   No news to report, well, kinda sorta. Eli got braces last week. Blue bands on top, pink on bottom. Pink is his favorite color. Chris is unemployed. His job phased out last week. He's happy. I don't think I've talked to any other of the grandkids.
  I guess no news is good news. Hope school is going great for everyone. There's only a little over 4 months left for you traditional kids.
  One cute story though, Chris left me a message on the phone last week. "Grandma, I'm looking in the mirror at myself realizing how cute I am. You do know I take this after you. It must have skipped a generation with mom. Grandma, I'm so glad I look like you!" I don't know what that boy is after, but he really made me laugh.

My Video 1/15/13 at OneTrueMedia.com

Happy Birthday Carter!!!

Make a video - it's fun, easy and free!
www.onetruemedia.com

How Many Buttons.........

How many buttons do you have to push to watch a movie? 

Answer......... it seems like a thousand.

  I received a Roku for Christmas. James hooked it to the tv for me, and went through to show me the buttons to push to get to Hulu. A week or so later, Sherrill and I decided to go through the steps to see it we had it right. BEEP. Wrong answer. We had problems.

  So, one night I called Kat to get her to walk me though the steps. This is what I have to go though just to watch Roku.

1. turn on TV remote

2. turn on cisco remote

3. turn on tv on cisco remote

4. turn on/ wake up Roku......(press the house sign)

5. press the input button on TV remote

6. scroll down to HDMI 2

7. press enter

8. wait for roku to load

9. scroll to Hulu Plus ........ or wherever I am going

10. go to computer and type in email address, password, and Roku number

11. go back to Roku and scroll to find movie/ tv show

12 .low volume, find cisco remote turn up volume

13. low volume, find universal remote, turn up volume

14. still low volume, deal with it.

15. tv show selected, it starts to play

16. pause tv show. Dinner on the table. Go eat.

17 Return to Roku. Screen is blue. have to start all over again.

  This is my life with Roku. It is getting better though. Now we can finally select and start a movie in 20 minutes or less. We have watched Craig's list Joe and The 2001 movie The Proposal (not the Sandra Bullock one).

  Now that I have the list here, when I forget a step, I won't have to call Kat. I can just go back and follow my own instructions. I'm still having problems with the volume thing. Why does it have to take 3 remotes and a million buttons to watch a simple movie?

  Since I have become somewhat "trained" with Roku, Kat said the next lesson will be on Amazon movies. Wish me luck on that one! I can just see a bill coming in the mail for hundreds of dollars for movies I have ordered that I thought were FREE!

The joys of an old woman

    As you get older and older in life, some of the excitement goes away. A good day might exist just reading the evening paper and realizing your obit is not in there yet.

   Yesterday morning I was in the kitchen and heard the sounds of children's laughter. I didn't have anything to do, no plans until lunchtime when Sherrill had some friends coming over after church.

So, I go out to the patio to get some sun and listen to the excitement, and I see the kids playing, and James and Abby with a big box.

  Hot dog! This is going to be a good one. This is what I need to start the day. I carried my chair to the property line, and had a seat. I knew this would be entertaining. Back in my little brain I was thinking, now James is like his dad, he likes to look at the pictures when assembling items, and almost always has left over pieces. Let's see how this trampoline is going to go.

  I quietly ask how long does he think this will take, and James replies, about 2 hours. I just sit back and relax. The first goes so smoothly. Attaching the support poles, no real drama. The kids are running around playing, fussing, tattling, things kids normally do. Then comes connecting the top. Now that was a little funny. The project was completed in under the two hour allotted time, with no bodily harm or profanity. All the kids took part in the project, Carter handing out springs and Lauren counting holes for the springs. 

  It was so nice to sit back and just watch and smile. I'm so glad those days of "after Christmas assemblies" are over. It's fun to just sit back and watch the next generation and the excitement they have. Been there, done that. Some days it's great to be old!

Disney Jar

So we McEwan's would like to go to DisneyLand this year. The estimated cost would be over $2,000. So I have come up with an idea to make a little money on the side. Below is a picture of our Disney Jar, here in our town we have a yard sale site on Facebook to buy, sale and trade items. I have been searching my house for items that we no longer use or just don't want and I take pictures of it and off it goes to the new owner and I have a few dollars to add to our jar. Tell me how y'all save money for trips and vacations. I need all the help I can get.

Party time at the McKeel's

Carter's Birthday is next week, so he had his party today. It was warm enough for it to be outside.

Friday morning.........

  So what is there to do on a Friday morning........clean out the freezer of course!
  I remember as a child hearing the story of a visitor coming to my aunt's house. When the visitor knocked on the door he was greeted by a child saying, "Come on in, my mom is in the freezer."  This was a true story, I just can't remember which child answered the door, or which parent was in the freezer. I know I did not go to the door, I was too shy. The door greeter would likely have been my sister or my cousin Steve. Now, the parent in the freezer, that could have been my mom or either my Aunt Charlotte. They both had short legs, and could no way reach to the bottom of a chest freezer. And, to clean it, I'm sure one did in fact climb inside the freezer.
  Now, back to MY freezer. We reorganized all the food. Now at least all the pork is together, chicken together, veggies together, and realized there is very few steaks left. Hope they come on sale soon!
Nope, I didn't take time to defrost it. That's saved for another day.
  I have a chicken defrosting to make some chicken salad, and a roast defrosting for Sherrill's dinner.
You would be surprised at the things you can find, just by rearranging!

There's one in every group

   I came across this the other day and thought about Meghan. She LOVES flamingos.  I just sat and stared at the white flamingo and realized there is always someone, just a little different. I started to think about all the people I know that fit into this category. We all don't look the same, act the same, and our individuality can not be reproduced. So, get out there, and "Strut your stuff". There's only one like you,
so take advantage of it while you can!

Whatcha doin?

 So, what have you been up to? I have so many projects going on, it looks like a mad house here.  I started on a "birthday project" right after Christmas. Sherrill has watched me along the way, then I had to set it aside for some genealogy research. I keep finding all of these "cousins". The last two were connected to the McKeel's, so I had to help them along. Here I was doing all the research, only to find out that the girl was the vice president of a genealogy society. Oh well, I got her stuff straight for her.
  I've spent a few days doing dad's "book work". Sales tax, payroll tax, 4.2 percent to 6.2 percent. They need to keep these numbers straight. Have you noticed a decrease in your pay stub? You are back paying an extra 2 percent for social security.
 Now tomorrow it's back to the Family History Center. More research, more people to help. I get to talk a lot when I'm there.
 Sherrill has been home, annoying me most of the time. He finished up his last job right before Christmas, and doesn't have anything scheduled for another couple of weeks. So, it you get bored during the day, give him a call! He's finally getting out of the house and working in the yard. He's been getting up leaves and burning them all week. He had to go out last night around 9:00 to "water down" his fire. It had been burning all day. That man still LOVES a good fire.
  That's about all that has been going on here. Busy, Busy, busy!

Butter

What do you get when take Me + cream + a mixer = Butter. That's right everybody I made butter from scratch. How awesome is that.

Photo from Facebook

Looks like fun Nate!

Child's skirt

OK for all you mom's that sew.
Let's see if you can make one of these.
The bottom of the skirt is done by hand. How cute!

Happy Birthday Blake

Happy Birthday to YOU

Happy Birthday to YOU

Happy Birthday dear Blake

Happy BIrthday to YOU.

We love you.

Spongebob

So me and Jacob were at Wal-Mart today and I picked up a pineapple to put in the cart. Jacob looks and walks over and says "Momma look it's sponebob's house". So I guess spongebob is teaching today's youth.

I don't Want to.........

I don't wanna do it.......
I don't wanna do it!
And that's that.
But I've gotta do it.
Gotta get this house clean and the germs out.
Oh what a dreadful day of cleaning.
Time to bump up the tunes and get moving!  Move outta the way Jack, cause HERE I COME!

So funny!

Sherrill's Christmas

Sherrill had a GREAT time at Christmas. He got so many presents, it took him almost an hour to open them. The presents were arriving so fast, there at the end I just quit wrapping them. I just put the boxes under the tree. Every now and then he would open a box, make a strange face and say, "This must be for you, I don't even know what it is"! He would hand it over to me and tell me I could have that one.
He had a wonderful Christmas, no pouting.
Him and Jack really liked this one.........

Newspaper Ad

   I was doing some research in old newspapers today. I came across this ad in a Columbia, SC Feb 19, 1870 newspapers.  There's no wonder all the Grandma's back then were in such good spirits.
Perhaps we should start looking for our own "Queen's Delight"!

Blake Scott

Well, Blake got quite a few toys for christmas. Some from Santa, some from family, and some that he was able to pick out with his christmas money. He got a batman 3 wheeler that he absolutely loves. Almost impossible to get him of it. He cant reach the pedals but sure does pedal it away everywhere all around the house. His birthday is Sunday and he will be 2! I cant believe where the time has gone. I said wow he is two years old and yet my c section still hurts! something isnt quite right here! I dont have anything planned special for his birthday. Kind of the same reason I dont go all out for christmas for him..because he wont remember! and he already gets alot of my money in diapers and other basic needs! His vocabulary has developed tremendously. He is at 98% tile for height and 23% tile for weight. Yes, i feed my child but being tall and skinny is the ways hes gonna be i suppose! Hes getting into the terrible twos. Tells me "no" without hesitation and has the independent thing down to the degree. He is even as independent as trying to wipe his own butt when i change him. and boy does he get every crack, crease, and crevance there is! Eating is still a challenge at times. he tends to eat better for others than for me. he loves chocolate milk and if you give him something he doesnt want, yep you guessed right, he throws it right on the ground along with himself and throws that two year old tantrum you all probably remember. I will try to post some updated pictures soon!

Black eyed peas anyone?

  Yep, it's that time again. Time to find a bag of black eyed peas and get to cooking. Sorry, but I don't do the collards. Sherrilll dug into his chicken pastry, black eyed peas, and potato salad. It turned out to be a pretty good meal for a dark and dreary day.
  Sherrill is still "hacking". He's going back to the Dr tomorrow. His meds have done NOTHING for him. My Zpack has me up and running. He was surprised when i went to the grocery store today, and I really didn't need anything special. I was just ready to get out of the house and away from all the germs.
I reckon I should go in there and throw out our old toothbrushes and get new ones. Germs everywhere!
  I stayed up and watched Anderson Cooper ring in the new year. I do this every year, while my children are sleeping soundly in their beds. I don't understand why they don't stay up for all the excitement. Won't somebody out there PLEASE let me know that you too were awake to ring in the New Year!